This invention relates to a split outdoor fan housing for use in an air conditioning
More specifically, this invention relates to a housing for use PTAC unit employing an outdoor fan having the capability of distributing condensate over the outdoor heat exchanger surfaces to improve the unit efficiency when the unit is operating in a cooling mode. Many package terminal air conditioners are used in hotels and motels to provide conditioned air to specific indoor areas such as rooms and the like. The unit is generally housed in a rectangular sleeve that is mounted in an outside wall of the area or room being serviced. The unit is separated into an indoor section and an outdoor section by a dividing wall. Each section includes a heat exchanger and a fan for moving air over the heat exchanger. When operating in a cooling mode, the outdoor heat exchanger acts as a condenser for reducing refrigerant vapors leaving the system compressor to a liquid state. To improve the efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger, the outdoor section is sometimes provided with a slinger type fan that is arranged to distribute condensate provided by the indoor heat exchanger to aid in the condensing process and thus improve the overall efficiency of the unit. A housing is placed about the outdoor heat exchanger and fan to contain the condensate and to help in distributing outside air and condensate over the heat exchanger. A housing of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,812.
The outdoor heat exchanger, because it is exposed to outdoor elements, collects dirt and other air borne contaminants which lodge in the exchanger surfaces, thereby reducing the unit performance. These surfaces must therefor be cleaned periodcally. It has heretofor been rather difficult to gain to these surfaces involving the removal of a large number of unit parts. As a consequence, the unit the down time during cleaning has been relatively long and the cost of maintaining this type of unit relatively high.
It is an object of the present invention to improve air conditioners and, in particular packaged terminal air conditioners.
It is a further object of the present invention to facilitate cleaning of the outdoor heat exchanger of a packaged terminal air conditioner.
It is a still further object of the present invention to minimize the amount of time required to clean the outdoor heat exchanger of a packaged terminal air conditioner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide easy access to the outdoor heat exchanger of an air conditioner.
Yet another object of the present invention is to improve the distribution of condensate over the surfaces of the outdoor heat exchanger of a PTAC unit.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained in a packaged terminal air conditioner having an indoor section and an outdoor section, both of which contain a heat exchanger and a fan for moving air over the heat exchanger. A dividing wall is used to separate the indoor section from the outdoor section of the unit. A two piece housing is mounted in the outdoor section of the unit that encloses the area between the outdoor fan and the outdoor heat exchanger. The housing has a front wall with an opening that surrounds the outdoor fan through which air is drawn into the housing and passed over the heat exchanger surfaces. The housing includes a stationary lower wall section and a removable upper wall section that is secured to the lower wall section by any suitable type fastener. A hole is provided in the bottom of the lower wall section through which condensate is drawn by the outdoor fan into the housing and distributed over the outdoor heat exchanger. Vanes are placed upon the inner wall surfaces of the housing to enhance the distribution of condensate over the heat exchanger. The housing is split about along the horizontal axis of the fan thereby furnishing ready access to the outdoor heat exchanger when the upper wall section is removed from the housing.